Liquid crystal (LC) technology has been successfully harnessed to serve numerous display applications, ranging from monochrome alphanumeric display panels, to laptop computers, and even to large-scale full color displays. As is well known, an LC device forms an image as an array of pixels by selectively modulating the polarization state of incident light for each corresponding pixel. Continuing improvements of LC technology have yielded the benefits of lower cost, improved yields and reliability, and reduced power consumption and with steadily improved imaging characteristics, such as resolution, speed, and color.
One type of LC display component, commonly used for laptops and larger display devices, is the so-called “direct view” LCD panel, in which a layer of liquid crystal is sandwiched between two sheets of glass or other transparent material. Improvements in thin-film transistor (TFT) technology have proved beneficial for direct view LCD panels, allowing increasingly denser packing of transistors into an area of a single glass pane. In addition, new LC materials that enable thinner layers and faster response time have been developed. This, in turn, has helped to provide direct view LCD panels having improved resolution and increased speed. Thus, larger, faster LCD panels having improved resolution and color are being designed and utilized successfully for full motion imaging.
Alternatively, miniaturization and the utilization of microlithographic technologies have enabled development of LC devices of a different type. Liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) technology has enabled the development of highly dense spatial light modulators by sealing the liquid crystal material against the structured backplane of a silicon circuit. Essentially, LCOS fabrication combines LC design techniques with complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) manufacturing processes.
Using LCOS technology, LC chips having imaging areas typically smaller than one square inch are capable of forming images having several million pixels. The relatively mature level of silicon etching technology has proved to be advantageous for the rapid development of LCOS devices exhibiting high speeds and excellent resolution. LCOS devices have been used as spatial light modulators in applications such as rear-projection television and business projection apparatus.
With the advent of digital cinema and related electronic imaging opportunities, considerable attention has been directed to development of electronic projection apparatus. In order to provide a competitive alternative to conventional cinematic-quality film projectors, digital projection apparatus must meet high standards of performance, providing high resolution, wide color gamut, high brightness, and frame-sequential contrast ratios exceeding 1,000:1. LCOS LCDs appear to offer advantages as spatial light modulators for high-quality digital cinema projection systems. These advantages include relatively large device size, small gaps between pixels, and favorable device yields.
Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a simplified block diagram of a conventional electronic projection apparatus 10 using LCOS LCD devices. Each color path (r=Red, g=Green, b=Blue) uses similar components for forming a modulated light beam. Individual components within each path are labeled with an appended r, g, or b, appropriately. Following the red color path, a red light source 20r provides unmodulated light, which is conditioned by uniformizing optics 22r to provide a uniform illumination. A polarizing beamsplitter 24r directs light having the appropriate polarization state to a spatial light modulator 30r which selectively modulates the polarization state of the incident red light over an array of pixel sites. The action of spatial light modulator 30r forms the red component of a full color image. The modulated light from this image, transmitted along an optical axis Or through polarizing beamsplitter 24r, is directed to a dichroic combiner 26, typically an X-cube or a Philips prism. Dichroic combiner 26 combines the red, green, and blue modulated images from separate optical axes Or/Og/Ob to form a combined, multicolor image for a projection lens 32 along a common optical axis O for projection onto a display surface 40, such as a projection screen. Optical paths for blue and green light modulation are similar. Green light from green light source 20g, conditioned by uniformizing optics 22g is directed through a polarizing beamsplitter 24g to a spatial light modulator 30g. The modulated light from this image, transmitted along an optical axis Og, is directed to dichroic combiner 26. Similarly blue light from blue light source 20b, conditioned by uniformizing optics 22b is directed through a polarizing beamsplitter 24b to a spatial light modulator 30b. The modulated light from this image, transmitted along an optical axis Ob, is directed to dichroic combiner 26.
Among examples of electronic projection apparatus that utilize LCOS LCD spatial light modulators with an arrangement similar to that of FIG. 1 are those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,808,795 (Shimomura et al.); 5,798,819 (Hattori et al.); 5,918,961 (Ueda); 6,010,221 (Maki et al.); 6,062,694 (Oikawa et al.); 6,113,239 (Sampsell et al.); and 6,231,192 (Konno et al.)
As each of the above-cited patents shows, developers of motion-picture quality projection apparatus have primarily directed their attention and energies to LCOS LCD technology, rather than to solutions using TFT-based, direct view LC panels. There are a number of clearly obvious reasons for this. For example, the requirement for making projection apparatus as compact as possible argues for the deployment of miniaturized components, including miniaturized spatial light modulators, such as the LCOS LCDs or other types of compact devices such as digital micromirrors. The highly compact pixel arrangement, with pixels typically sized in the 10-20 micron range, allows a single LCOS LCD to provide sufficient resolution for a large projection screen, requiring an image in the range of 2048×1024 or 4096×2048 pixels or better as required by Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) specifications for digital cinema projection. Other reasons for interest in LCOS LCDs over their direct-view LCD panel counterparts relates to performance attributes of currently available LCOS components, attributes such as response speed, color, and contrast.
Yet another factor that tends to bias projector development efforts toward miniaturized devices relates to the dimensional characteristics of the film that is to be replaced. That is, the image-forming area of the LCOS LCD spatial light modulator, or its digital micromirror device (DMD) counterpart, is comparable in size to the area of the image frame that is projected from the motion picture print film. This may somewhat simplify some of the projection optics design. However, this interest in LCOS LCD or DMD devices also results from an unquestioned assumption on the part of designers that image formation at smaller dimensions is most favorable. Thus, for conscious reasons, and in line with conventional reasoning and expectations, developers have assumed that the miniaturized LCOS LCD or DMD provides the most viable image-forming component for high-quality digital cinema projection.
One problem inherent with the use of miniaturized LCOS and DMD spatial light modulators relates to brightness and efficiency. As is well known to those skilled in the imaging arts, any optical system is constrained by the Lagrange invariant. A product of the area of the light-emitting device and the numerical aperture of the emitted light, the LaGrange invariant is an important consideration for matching the output of one optical system with the input of another and determines output brightness of an optical system. In simple terms, only so much light can be provided from an area of a certain size. As the Lagrange invariant shows, when the emissive area is small, a large angle of emitted light is needed in order to achieve a certain level of brightness. Added complexity and cost result from the requirement to handle illumination at larger angles. This problem is noted and addressed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,758,565 (Cobb et al.); 6,808,269 (Cobb); and 6,676,260 (Cobb et al.). These patents disclose electronic projection apparatus design using higher numerical apertures at the spatial light modulator for obtaining the necessary light while reducing angular requirements elsewhere in the system.
A related consideration is that image-forming components also have limitations related to energy density. With miniaturized spatial light modulators, and with LCOS LCDs in particular, only so much energy density can be tolerated at the component level. That is, a level of brightness beyond a certain threshold level can damage the device itself. Typically, energy density above about 15 W/cm2 would be excessive for an LCOS LCD. This, in turn, constrains the available brightness when using an LCOS LCD of 1.3 inch in diameter to no more than about 15,000 lumens. Heat build-up must also be prevented, since this would cause distortion of the image and color aberrations, and could shorten the lifespan of the light modulator and its support components. In particular, the behavior of polarization components that are sensitive to thermally induced stress birefringence would be significantly compromised by heat build-up. This requires substantial cooling mechanisms for the spatial light modulator itself and careful engineering considerations for supporting optical components. Again, this adds cost and complexity to optical system design.
Still other related problems with LCOS LCDs relate to the high angles of modulated light needed. The mechanism for image formation in LCD devices and the inherent birefringence of the LCD itself limit the contrast and color quality available from these devices when incident illumination is highly angular. In order to provide suitable levels of contrast, one or more compensator devices must be used in an LCOS system. This, however, further increases the complexity and cost of the projection system. An example of this is disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,831,722 (Ishikawa et al.), which discloses the use of compensators for angular polarization effects of wire grid polarizers and LCD devices. For these reasons, it can be appreciated that LCOS LCD and DMD solutions face inherent limitations related to component size and light path geometry.
There have been various projection apparatus solutions proposed using the alternative direct view TFT LC panels. However, in a number of cases, these apparatus have been proposed for specialized applications, and are not intended for use in high-end digital cinema applications. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,889,614 (Cobben et al.) discloses the use of a TFT LC panel device as an image source for an overhead projection apparatus. U.S. Pat. No. 6,637,888 (Haven) discloses a rear screen TV display using a single subdivided TFT LC panel with red, green, and blue color sources, using separate projection optics for each color path. Commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,505,940 (Gotham et al.) discloses a low-cost digital projector with a large-panel LC device encased in a kiosk arrangement to reduce vertical space requirements. While each of these examples employs a larger LC panel for image modulation, none of these designs is intended for motion picture projection at high resolution, having good brightness levels, color comparable to that of conventional motion picture film, acceptable contrast, and a high level of overall image quality.
One attempt to provide a projection apparatus using TFT LC panels is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,758,940 (Ogino et al.) In the Ogino et al. '940 apparatus, one or more Fresnel lenses is used to provide collimated illumination to the LC panel; another Fresnel lens then acts as a condenser to provide light to projection optics. Because it provides an imaging beam over a wide area, the Ogino et al. '940 apparatus is advantaged for its high light output, based on the Lagrange invariant described above. However, while it offers potential applications for TV projection apparatus and small-scale projectors, the proposed solution of the Ogino et al. '940 disclosure falls short of the performance levels necessary for high-resolution projection systems that modulate light and provide imaged light output having high intensity, at levels of 10,000 lumens and beyond.
Thus, it can be seen that, although digital cinema projection apparatus solutions have focused on the use of LCOS LCDs for image forming, there are inherent limitations in brightness and efficiency when using LCOS LCD components for this purpose. TFT LC panel solutions, meanwhile, would provide enhanced brightness levels over LCOS solutions. While projection apparatus using TFT LC panels have been disclosed, these have not been well suited to the demanding brightness requirements of high-performance digital cinema projection.
In cinema applications, the projector projects the modulated image onto a display screen or surface, where this surface may be at a variable distance from the projector. This requires that the projector provide some type of focus adjustment as well as color alignment adjustment. With conventional LCOS apparatus such as that shown in FIG. 1, color alignment is performed by color combining optics, so that the three composite RGB colors are projected along the same axis. However, for solutions using TFT devices, there may be benefits to providing separate projection optics for red, green, and blue paths. Some of these benefits include simpler and less costly lenses with color correction for a narrow wavelength band at each lens. With such an approach, some alignment method must then be provided to form the color image from properly superimposed red, green, and blue images, thereby allowing the projector to be used over a range of distances from a display screen.
Other problems relate to the nature of light modulation by the TFT LC device and to the support components necessary for high brightness applications requiring high levels of image quality. Conventional solutions would constrain both the light output levels and overall image quality, obviating the advantages afforded by TFT use for projection applications. For example, the use of absorptive polarizers that are directly attached to the TFT panels, as these devices are commonly provided from manufacturers, is disadvantageous for image quality. Heat absorption from these films, typically exceeding 20% of the light energy, causes consequent heating of the LCD materials, resulting in a loss of contrast and contrast uniformity.
Another problem inherent to TFT devices relates to constraints on fill factor. Each pixel site on a conventional TFT LCD has supporting electronics that limit the area available for light modulation. This problem, along with the use of absorptive polarizers noted above, places some restrictions on the amount of brightness that can be effectively achieved using conventional TFT LCDs.
Early solutions for electronic projection using liquid crystal light valves were not constrained by these difficulties, but had other limitations. The image light amplifier (ILA) designs, first proposed more than twenty years ago, employed a more primitive LC light valve device in which an image was formed on the LC light valve by a low intensity signal from a CRT. High intensity projection light was then provided from the opposite side of the LC light valve for modulation. A few examples of earlier designs using this approach are the following:                U.S. Pat. No. 4,343,535 (Bleha, Jr.) discloses an LC light valve having a photoresponsive layer and liquid crystal layer sandwiched between transparent electrodes, with a CRT providing an input image;        U.S. Pat. No. 4,127,322 (Jacobson et al.) discloses a system somewhat similar to that of the Bleha Jr. '535 patent, in which light valves are coupled directly to the face of their corresponding CRTs; and        U.S. Pat. No. 4,191,456 (Hong et al.) discloses a full-color system with CRTs providing the image content for each of the red, green, and blue color channels.        
In projection apparatus described in the Bleha Jr. et al. '535, Jacobson et al. '322, and Hong et al. '456 disclosures, the CRT itself constrained the available resolution of the projected image. An improved solution described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,653,867 (Urabe et al.) employs laser beams for increased resolution and improved writing speed.
The basic liquid crystal light valve used in the apparatus of U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,343,535; 4,127,322; 4,191,456; and 4,653,867 is simpler in design than today's TFT LC modulator, with variations on the basic LC light valve shown in FIG. 2. Here, a liquid crystal light valve 300 has a pair of transparent cover plates 302a and 302b, typically made of glass. Transparent electrodes 304a and 304b, typically formed from indium tin oxide (ITO) are on the corresponding inner surfaces of transparent cover plates 302a and 302b. Insulating films 306a and 306b isolate the inner liquid crystal layer 310 from transparent electrodes 304a and 304b. A dielectric mirror 312 is backed by a light blocking layer 314 for reflective operation; light blocking layer 314 and dielectric mirror 312 are not used for a transmissive device. A photoresponsive layer 316 is also provided for responding to the low-intensity image-forming light from the external CRT or laser source (not shown in FIG. 2).
While the approach illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,343,535; 4,127,322; 4,191,456; and 4,653,867 provided some advantages for image brightness, however, a number of practical problems caused this approach to be superceded by designs employing LCOS devices. Certainly, the bulk and energy requirements of the CRT caused some difficulties. Conventional methods for laser modulation, required for the device in U.S. Pat. No. 4,653,867, proved cumbersome and impractical. These problems have thus far prevented the development of high performance, low cost projection apparatus using simplified LC devices.
Recent improvements in laser modulation technology have caused a renewal of interest in earlier design approaches in which the LC device is provided with an image from a separate excitation source. With the corresponding development of spatial light modulators that are more ideally suited to handle laser illumination, such as the electromechanical conformal grating device, termed a GEMS device, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,594,060 (Kowarz), for example, there is heightened interest in the possibility of providing image modulation with improved resolution using a large-panel LC device that can be inexpensively fabricated. However, workable solutions that take advantage of the flexibility, low cost, and inherent robustness of the GEMS device for LC device modulation have not been proposed.
Thus, it can be seen that there is a need for a full-color projection apparatus that takes advantage of inherent etendue-related advantages of LC devices and provides improved image quality.